Anyone jumped systems, then eventually went back to the same one?


hotchoco1ate

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Jan 27, 2010
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Just curious, considering the many (myself included) jumping ship to other systems, did anyone regret their decision and ultimately using their original system again? i.e. Nikon -> Canon -> Nikon?

While you're at it, mind saying why you changed systems in the first place?

My intention is not to start any brand warring but just to understand the subtle differences in different systems. I really dislike the notion of "Canon and Nikon are both the same, just go down and have a feel of which camera you like." I know its a subjective thing, but why not first voice out any shortcomings of each and let the neutral party decide? Beats having to stay on the fence, which i believe is a very undesirable attitude of Singaporeans.

Peace yo :angel:

Perhaps i shall start the ball rolling. I kinda dislike Canon for putting up such a wonderful, clear, and vivid LCD screen, only to realise that the actual image on the PC doesn't cut it. Looks nothing like on the LCD even after zooming in. Lost many keepers from this "deception".
 

Haha...agree!! When I am shooting..I thought my pictures look so vibrant and well exposed. Only to open the file on com that it seems so dull and under-exposed. I guess we have to mentally adjust what we see and predict how it actually looks like.

I am a canon user.

I was tempted to switch to nikon at one pt in time due to its af system (if we compare bodies of same level) and somehow it's high ISO lower noise ability. But well, I told myself I am going through alot of trouble to sell all my equipment to change ship so might as well see how I can improve my techniques rather than to rely so much on the mechanical functions of the body.

Now I am still happy with my 500D. What I feel canon is good: Video, perhaps that's where the LCD is useful.
 

Yes, where video is concerned, Canon definitely wins hands down.
 

Not a very good comparison since i actually switched brand and upgraded class from 550D to D300S last year.
I prefer Nikon AF system, aesthetics, colours reproduction, flash metering and lenses. :)
 

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Vibrance and saturation can be tweaked easily via pp tools, if it appear dull on your screen. If you are shooting in jpeg, over-saturation and over-contrast can lead to loss in details. So you shouldn't feel that bad if the colors turn out to have less contrast and saturation. If you are shooting in raw, pictures are often dull at least it is for my case.

There are many differences not only in the brand, but body models and lenses.

Every camera body is different in terms of capability, performance, ergonomics and others, regardless of brand, same go for lens.
I don't think it has anything to do with the brand of the system.

That being said, i haven't used much cameras, only 2 different systems, so can't say much. Peace, just sharing.
 

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I'm thinking to switch to Canon because of Canon colour. I often find that the Canon colour can give a different feel which I can't find in Nikon. I like Canon green colour and the skin tone.
Does anyone of you here know how to duplicate Canon colour profile in Lightroom and apply it on the photos taken by Nikon cameras?
 

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I'm thinking to switch to Canon because of Canon colour. I often find that the Canon colour can give a different feel which I can't find in Nikon. I like Canon green colour and the skin tone.
Does anyone of you here know how to duplicate Canon colour profile in Lightroom and apply it on the photos taken by Nikon cameras?

It is doable. You need to use the sliders in the color channel mixer. Experiment with hue, and tone it with WB as well.

You have to find the settings yourself, or you can pay to buy the presets. They are available on sale online.

But seriously, I rather develop my own color style than trying to emulate something that comes out default from a camera manufacturer.
 

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Not a very good comparison since i actually switched brand and upgraded class from 550D to D300S last year.
I prefer Nikon AF system, aesthetics, colours reproduction, flash metering and lenses. :)

prefer Nikon AF system too after switching from Nikon to Canon. :sweatsm:
 

Perhaps i shall start the ball rolling. I kinda dislike Canon for putting up such a wonderful, clear, and vivid LCD screen, only to realise that the actual image on the PC doesn't cut it. Looks nothing like on the LCD even after zooming in. Lost many keepers from this "deception".
First, the LCD is for a brief review, checking histogram and settings. It's not meant for serious image analysis. Do you expect the images to be 'ready' when loading from the camera? That would explain your mislead expectation. Other people just download the image and do their own post-processing according what they have in mind. And after all this processing nobody can seriously tell which camera or even lens has been used.
So instead of jumping between systems to get certain colours 'straight from cam' you could spend more time on post-processing skills. Definitely cheaper :)
Another point to check: do you have a colour-managed workflow or do you just use Windows Image Viewer?
 

After doing some search, I've come across a website which offer different camera makers' colour profiles:-

http://pskiss.com/shop/cross-camera-color-profiles/

"Apply any camera colors to your photos, using the power of DNG profiles.
It doesn’t matter which camera you use, PSKiss Cross Camera Color DNG profiles will provide you Nikon, Canon or Leica colors right inside Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
For example, you can use Canon EOS 7D with Leica M8 DNG profile to produce Leica M8 color look. You can use Nikon D40x and produce the look of Canon EOS 1-Ds Mk III. It simply, works!
All you need to do is to open a Camera Raw file with Photoshop CS4, CS5,Elements or Lightroom*, and choose the colors you want for your image."
Camera makers invest quite a lot of effort to produce pleasing colors for their cameras. For instance, when you buy a Nikon camera you receive a number of color “themes” (or color profiles). Each color profile, is a result of their in interpretation for how color should appear. With our Cross Camera Color DNG Profiles, you can apply other camera brands to your Raw images, whether you use a Canon, Nikon, Sony or any other camera.


Will try it out tonight and see if it really works.
 

i think its still down to personal preferences.. these are something skills cant help, like the followings:

1) i feel nikon body/button design is much better. i can shut my eyes and know where is the on/off switch the first time i hold a particular model, from d3000 to d3. i'm almost always lost on canon 550d, 60d, 7d, 5d. diff on/off switch placement, some in the most awkward positions.

2) Nikon Creative Lighting System. built-in on most models.

3) free lens hood.
 

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i think its still down to personal preferences.. these are something skills cant help, like the followings:

1) i feel nikon body/button design is much better. i can shut my eyes and know where is the on/off switch the first time i hold a particular model, from d3000 to d3. i'm almost always lost on canon 550d, 60d, 7d, 5d. diff on/off switch placement, some in the most awkward positions.

2) Nikon Creative Lighting System. built-in on most models.

3) free lens hood.

I liked that Nikon lenses has international warranty no matter what lens it is:)
 

In the past, many years ago, Nikon's LCD screen tend to produce relatively more saturated and vibrate colors as compared to the Canon. This was the case during the D70 vs 10D days. Often times, people will comment that the color appears to be more attractively from the Nikon cameras when viewed through the LCD screen. But when downloaded onto the computer, the photos turn out to be similar to the Canon's. I guess Canon took a leaf from that experience and started to tweak their LCD screens and now I find it hard to trust the LCD screen previews in terms of color output. >.<
 

started with canon, jumped to pentax, came back to canon. Pentax gives very decent colors straight out of the camera; but Canon's AF system and lens lineup is so much better.
 

started with canon, jumped to pentax, came back to canon. Pentax gives very decent colors straight out of the camera; but Canon's AF system and lens lineup is so much better.
I am always under the impression that Pentax's AF is class leading from the reviews I've read...certainly no where as good as the 1D's, but better than the xxD series, no?
 

I am always under the impression that Pentax's AF is class leading from the reviews I've read...certainly no where as good as the 1D's, but better than the xxD series, no?

big no. If Pentax's AF is class leading then you won't be seeing big whites/blacks at the sides of the football field.

Pentax AF is very accurate but slow, as it does "double confirmation" whereby when it reach desired focus it will focus front a bit, then back a bit, then lock focus. The focus lock is very very accurate even with manual lenses. But then just one single fashion show paid assignment and I decided to crawl back to Canon once again. It's AF is fast but not precise for moving/active subjects.

All in all Canon/Nikon is still a better all-rounder. If you shoot stills/ studio you should seriously consider Pentax lineup.